Nong Khai

The major border town in this corner of Isaan is NONG KHAI, an ethnically diverse town that’s thrived since the construction of the Thai-Australian Friendship Bridge over the Mekong on the west side of town in 1994. Occupying a strategic position at the end of Highway 2 and the northeastern rail line, and just 24km from Vientiane, Nong Khai acts as a conduit for goods bought and sold by Thais and Lao, who are allowed to pass between the two cities freely for day-trips. Consequently, the covered souvenir market that sprawls to the east of the main pier, Tha Sadet, carries Lao silver, wood and cane items, as well as goods from as far afield as China, Korea and Russia, plus local basketware and silk.

As with most of the towns along this part of the Mekong, the thing to do in Nong Khai is just to take it easy, enjoying the riverside atmosphere and the peaceful settings of its guesthouses, which offer good value. Before you lapse into a relaxation-induced coma, though, try joining an evening river-tour, or make a day-trip out to see the impressive sculptures and rock formations in the surrounding countryside (see Eating and drinking).

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Boat trips from Nong Khai

To catch the best of life on the river, take a boat trip on the Nagarina, which sets out from the Mut Mee Guest House every evening at around 5pm and runs up and down the length of Nong Khai for ninety minutes or so, sticking to the Thai side. Drinks are available and food can be ordered before the boat leaves. There’s no stunning scenery, but plenty of activity on both river banks as the sun sets behind the Friendship Bridge.

Naga fireballs

Nong Khai celebrates the generic Thai and Isaan festivals with due gusto, but in recent years a peculiarity of this stretch of the Mekong River has been attracting thousands of celebrants from Bangkok and beyond. Every year on the full-moon night in October, silent and vapourless naga fireballs appear from the river, small, pink spheres that float vertically up to heights of as much as 300m, then disappear; in some years, several thousand appear, in others, just a handful. A tentative scientific theory proposes that the balls are a combination of methane and nitrogen from decomposed matter on the bottom of the river, which reach a certain temperature at that time of the year and are released, combusting in the presence of oxygen when they break the water’s surface; romantics will prefer the local belief that the nagas or naks (serpents) of the river breathe out the fireballs to call the Buddha to return to earth at the end of Buddhist Lent.

This strange occurrence has now been consolidated into the two-day festival of Bang Fai Phaya Nak, which coincides with Awk Phansa and the end of the longboat-racing season on the river. The fireballs have appeared as far afield as Sang Khom and Bung Kan, but are generally most numerous at Phon Phisai, 40km east of Nong Khai; if you make the trek out there, take great care on the way back, when the road is thronged with drunk drivers.

Crossing the Lao border via Nong Khai

The crossing at Nong Khai is popular with tourists and relatively easy to use. Thais and Laos can cross the border via the ferry at Tha Sadet, but everyone else must use Nong Khai’s Thai-Australian Friendship Bridge.

Getting a visa on arrival

To get a visa at the border, take a tuk-tuk to the foot of the bridge, where you’ll be stamped out of Thailand. You’ll then need to take a bus across the span itself to the Laos immigration post, where you can get a thirty-day tourist visa for US$30–42 (depending on nationality), plus one photo. It’s possible to pay in baht at the bridge, though it’s over the odds at B1500 and upwards; Mut Mee Guest House sells dollars at a decent rate, but if not, try the Porntip jewellery shop within the covered market. From the Laos immigration post, you can catch a shared air-conditioned minibus, tuk-tuk or infrequent bus to Vientiane, 24km away.

With a visa

If you have already arranged a visa through a Lao embassy or consulate, you can head straight from Nong Khai into Laos. Six daily buses run all the way through to Vientiane from the bus station. Trains also run from Nong Khai to Tha Naleng in Laos, but as the tracks stop here you’ll need to charter a tuk-tuk, car or minibus for the rest of the journey. The border is also accessible from further afield – there are direct buses from Udon Thani and Khon Kaen to Vientiane.